An embodiment of the inventive concept relates to semiconductor power supply management, and more particularly, to an internal voltage generation circuit and method for reducing a surge current caused by power-up, and a semiconductor device including the internal voltage generation circuit.
Semiconductor devices generally use a low internal voltage to which a high externally supplied voltage is converted. There is a recent trend toward a decrease in an operating voltage. In particular, mobile products tend to use lower operating voltages.
“Power-up” refers to the supply of a power supply voltage in order to operate semiconductor devices. During this power-up operation, a semiconductor device does not immediately operate with an external power supply voltage at the instant when the external power supply voltage is supplied, but a stabilization time is required for the semiconductor device to operate after the external power supply voltage is increased to a certain level or greater.
Accordingly, a semiconductor device uses a stabilization circuit for preventing unstable operation, a latch-up phenomenon, or the like of an internal circuit during power-up. In addition, the semiconductor device uses an initialization signal generation circuit for initializing the components of the semiconductor device until a power supply voltage is stabilized, and for concluding the initialization and allowing the components to perform normal operations when the power supply voltage is stabilized. An initialization signal generated by the initialization signal generation circuit is also referred to as a power-up reset signal, and the initialization signal generation circuit is also referred to as a power-up reset circuit.